Electrolytic refining of metals.



B. BART.

ELECTROLYTIC REl-INING 0F METALS. APPLICATION FILED ozmz. 1917.

i 1,295,100. Patnted Feb. 191-9.

\x, INVENTOR. fi Blanca Bart 9 his A fro/em; w"

BLASIUS BA RT, 0F NEWARK, NEW JERSEY.

ELECTROLYTIC REFIE'ING- OF METALS. I

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 25., 1919.

Application filed December 12, 1917. Serial No. 206,740.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, BLASIUS BART, a citizen of the Republic ofSwitzerland, residing at 231 North 7th street, in the city of Newark, inthe county of Essex and State of New Jersey, have invented certain newand useful Improvements in Electrolytic Refining of Metals, of which thefollowing is a full, clear, and exact specification, such as will enableothers skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use thesame.

My present invention relates to a novel process for depositing metalselectrolytically and incidentally to a novel process of preparing anodesfor this purpose, as

well as to an improved anode and anode core.

In electro-plating work it is essential, among other things, that thesurfaces of the anodes which yield the metal to the electrolyte or bothshould be composed of metal as nearly pure as possible, and for thisreason anodes are often prepared from metal electrolytically deposited.In plating with copper, for instance, it has been customary to depositthe copper from a relatively impure copper anode upon a thin plate usedas a cathode. The copper thus deposited is brittle and granular butquite pure. It is not tenacious enough relied upon in use as an anodefor the final process of electro-plating, and it is therefore customaryto melt and roll it to form new plates fit for use.

The anode plates so made are generally suspended by hooks connected inthe plating circuit and passing through openings near the top of theplates, and the plates so suspended are immersed in the electrolyte.

It is found in practice that, when plates are used as anodes in thismanner, they waste away rapidly at their lower and side edges so thatthey diminish rapidly in effective area often breaking off so thatpieces gf copper (or other metal as the case may e Tlie result is that auseless stump of waste metal of irregular shape is left suspended fromthe hooks, which has to' be melted up as scrap. This wastage is due tothe fact that the solution of the anode metal in the electrolyte is farmore rapid at the edges of the plate, where the liquid has. a chance tocirculate, than at other parts of the plate,

to be.

drop uselessly to the bottom of the cell.

and that, for this reason, the plate is rapidly eaten away in the mannerabove described.

It is the principal object of my present invention to provide a processof preparation and use ofthe anode, as well as a form of anode and coretherefor, whereby the above objections are obviated, and whereby theentire supply of metal used'in plating is evenly consumed, leaving nostump or wastage. By the employment of my process I obtain the furtheradvantage of doing away with the necessity of melting and rolling theelectrolytic metal preparatory to using it in the final process ofelectroplat-. ing. This object is attained by reason of the fact that mynovel form of core makes it possible to obtain at once a smooth, evenand tenacious surface, instead of the granular, brittle and unreliablesurface obtained by the older method of preparation.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a face View or elevation ofone of my anode plates with a portion of the plating metal removed toshow the core, and Fig. 2 is a sectional View of the same on the line2-2 of Fig. 1.

In my improved process I employ a core I alternately on the negative andpositive poles of the plating cell, and this core has a novelconstruction which forms a part of the subject matter of my presentinvention.

This core A is in the form of a grid, wherein the openings are of aconsiderable size, so as to allow a large deposit of metal around theiredges without their being stopped up. In the form shown this grid isformed .of elements B, preferably lenticular in shape, and connected bynecks C. These parts form the borders of openings D which are preferablyat least about as large as the elements B. In order to suspend thesegrids in the electrolyte I provide them with hooks E whichcan be hungover the positive or negative wires in a well known manner.

For obvious reasons I refer to make these grids or cores of a meta whichwill not be attacked by the particular electrolyte intended to be used.Any suitable metal ma be used as will be understood by those skilled. inthe art, and it is not necessary that it should be as good a conductoras the metal to be plated with.

' In carrying out my improved process I 10 fact that the form of thecore A is-highly -being made of the metal intended to bemetalis-generally smooth. of.

- .lar, and is sufliciently tenacious and reliable for. immediate use asan anode without befirst use the core A- as -a; cathode, the anodeplated with, as in the preparation of pure electrol icmetal by the olderprocesses.

The di eren'ce' is that I-have found that by theuse ofmy improved core,the deposlted ingmelted and rolled. This Is due to the favorabletocirculation of the fluid; and,

Q presenting as itdoes, a very extended aggre nary electrolytic o .20

which isain the best possible condition .to.

gate of edges in proportion to -face area, there is a uch more.uniformaction over the entire core than would be the case if it were aplate with few or no perforations. I

. consequence of this action, the prelimion builds up'a body .of pure,metal .to e plated as shown at F",

-. serve as an anode'iii the 'final process of plating. As shown in thelower and left hand 5' side of Fig. 1, ,thedeposition of metaldurcarried so fares to close the openings D ing this preliminary processshould not be entirely; Indeed, in many cases a larger pro portion ofopen area than shown may be used'in' the anode.

I have found in practice that, where a 'composite body. prepared as.just described is used asan anode the deposited metal is '-consuinedevenly over the whole surface until entirelfy. consumed, owing to thelarge area Of pe orat1on' or open space, and the consequent extension ofthe edges in -proportion;to'j f ace area also be granuand lasting.

there is practically'no diminution of total noticed that, owing theopenings growing larger as the plating metal is consumed,-

area exposed to the bath, thereby 'contributing to uniformity of thebath.

By use of my core and of my process I not I I only avoid the expense ofthe older methods of preparation, but I have no wastage and noudroppingof co The final p ating, too', is smooth, even What I claim isdepositing metal electrolytically upon an anode core composed of solidportions alternating with openings to prepare'the metal for finaldeposition and then using the composite vbody'so formedas an anode.- x

2. In the art of electroplating with metal,

connecting necks limin the internal resistance pieces to the bottom ofthe 4 .1. In the art of electroplating" with metal iting open spaces notgreatly less in area than said elements. I

4. A composite body composed of a" core of the character set forth inclaim 3 herfi and covered withelectrolytically depos metal in quantityinsuflicient to close the.

openings in the grid.

BLASIUS BART-j

